Posts tagged ‘Murdered Child’

This photo is a computer generated facial reconstruction done by a forensic artist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Features such as eye color and hair style are the estimations of the artist to complete the image and should not be used as a significant marker for identification. The “DOB” and “Age Now” fields are approximations as well.

East River Jane DoeDate of Birth: January 1, 1985 (not the actual birthdate but an estimation)Date of Discovery: May 6, 2000Estimated Age When Found: Between 12 and 18 yearsEstimated Age As Of Now: 28Sex: Female Race: White (Victim may also be Hispanic or of mixed ancestry)Hair: Black Eye Color: UnknownHeight: 5’6″ Weight: Approx 150 lbsCity/State: NYC, New YorkCountry: (Northeast) USA

The skeletal remains of a child or young teenager were discovered floating in the East River located near 57th Street in New York City. Medical Examiners estimate her age as being between 12 and 18, and they believe she has been deceased for up to several months prior to discovery. She was found wearing dark-colored cargo pants, a Champion blue sports bra, blue boxer shorts, a t-shirt with a skunk printed on the front and the words “Perfect Thyroid” on the back (Perfect Thyroid is a local band originating in the Kingston, NY area.)

A photo of the shirt and pants can be seen in the left-hand bottom corner.

Due to the condition of the remains, some items in the composite – such as hairstyle and skin tone – are the artist’s estimations based on the description medical examiners gave and should NOT be the sole significant marker for identification.

NOTE: An unidentified individual located on US soil could be from anywhere around the world. Canada is closer to NY than California and it’s possible the victim was brought from up north. Child and females are the most targeted for abduction and/or human sex-trafficking and thousands of victims are smuggled into the US every year for profit. If you’re from another country don’t exclude the idea that this victim could be one of your own. Leave no stone unturned.

Photo of Adam Walsh which was taken the same year of his abduction and murder

Adam Walsh was a 6-year-old boy from Hollywood, FL. On the afternoon of July 27, 1981 Adam joined his mother, Reve Walsh, on a trip to Hollywood Mall, which is right across the street from Hollywood Police Department. The main reason for the trip was so Reve could stop by Sears Department Store to purchase a few items, including lamps.

Adam was your typical, friendly boy so when he saw a couple of children playing video games in the arcade section of the store he asked his mother if he could stay behind and watch. Figuring she would be less than 75 ft away in the lamp section, she said yes and left her son who was happy and amused with the video games, behind.

That was the last time she would see her son alive.

“I said, ‘I’m going right over here to the lamp department,’ and he said, ‘Okay, Mommy, I know where that is,'” Reve told Nightline in a 2011 interview.

Police records in Adam’s case released in 1996 show that a 17-year-old ‘security guard’ asked four boys to leave the department store. Adam is believed to have been one of them. It is unknown why they were asked to leave.

Reve noticed fairly quickly (about 5-10 minutes) that the lamp she wanted wasn’t in stock and headed back to the arcade. Adam was nowhere in sight. She wasn’t initially concerned, figuring Adam ran off with some kids she went out to search for him, asking local shoppers if they’ve seen him. After searching for over an hour, Reve began to panick and called police.

By the end of that week this case was National news, thousands of fliers with the smiling, brown-haired boy were published and posted all over cities and towns and eventually made their way out-of-state. But by then, it was too late.

Two weeks (16 days) after Adam went missing his severed head was found in a drainage canal more than 120 miles away from home. The rest of his body has never been located.

From the beginning, the Walshes were disappointed with the Hollywood Police Department.

First, the Walshes say the cops didn’t take the missing persons case seriously enough. Then they say the police botched the murder investigation.

“It was one nighmare after another,” John Walsh said.

The prime suspect was Ottis Toole, an admitted serial killer who was in prison for many other crimes.

“You keep killing and killing and it gets easier and easier and it don’t really bother you,” Toole once told Texas law enforcement.

Toole made 24 documented confessions to killing Adam Walsh, including a 1984 videotaped interview with Texas Rangers. During the interview, he said, “I kind of feel bad about that Adam Walsh kid.”

“That is,” he said, “the youngest child I ever killed.”

Toole even had the gulls to write to the Walsh family, demanding $5,000 in exchange for telling them where the rest of their child’s remains were.

“I read that letter and went into the bathroom and threw up,” John Walsh would later tell Nightline in an interview. “I said, ‘This son of a bitch. We have to figure out a way for him to tell us what happened.”

In the decades that followed, Adam’s case remained open. Toole continued to recant his confessions about being the killer several times and for years he was never charged. Many people believed he was admitting guilt simply for the fame and to be remembered. They believed this because he never proved his guilt and wouldn’t tell police where the rest of Adam’s body was.

For years the case went unsolved and the Walsh family felt like they were the ones doing all the investigating. It became frustrating but they were not going to let their child’s name go down in vain.

The Walsh Family – John Walsh in the middle, Reve Walsh (right) and daughter on the left

At the time there were no missing faces on milk cartons, no Amber Alert system in place to alert the public if a child goes missing, no National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, nothing. To a family who’s missing a child each minute feels like eternity and the Walsh’s were determined to change this.

They didn’t want other families to go through the tragedy they went threw and for the families who have gone threw unsolved tragedies. They were determined to catch as many predators and criminals as they possibly could.

Prior to his son’s murder, John Walsh was a partner in a hotel management company in Hollywood, Florida. After his son’s kidnapping and murder, he became a strong human and victims rights advocate, criminal investigator and the creator and host of America’s Most Wanted which has helped save thousands of missing people and solve crimes. Walsh is also a part owner of Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington D.C.

America’s Most Wanted (AMW) Logo

John Walsh (pictured) has been a strong human and victims right advocate for many years and continues to speak out and help other families of crimes

Reve Walsh rarely speaks out about her child’s murder. In 2011, she sat down with Nightline ABC to discuss a new book “Bringing Adam Home,” which tells the story of her son’s case and the tragedy they went threw.

“When all this was going on, I just thought to myself, I can’t wait till it’s 20 years or 25 years,” Reve said. “I don’t care about getting old, I just want this experience of my life to be that far away from me because I thought it would be different. It’s really not.” Reve told Nightline.

The Walsh family had dedicated their lives to helping other families find their missing relatives, children, etc. Over the years they’ve helped find thousands of missing people and criminals. They were not going to let their son’s horrific murder go in vain. But still, the frustrations grew each year Adam’s case continued to go unsolved.

“I cannot go to my grave not doing everything I can possibly do,” she said. “We are going to get a cold case detective, we are going to start from the beginning, and have this man work this case. I don’t care if you go to work just to pay the bill of this private investigator.’ And John said, ‘I know the guy.'”

That guy was Joe Mathews, a retired police detective who had briefly been involved in the Walsh case early on and was critical of how it was handled.

After combing through the case file, Mathews made a major discovery: a roll of film from the crime scene of Ottis Toole’s car — it was film that the original detectives never bothered to have developed. Pictures show bloody footprints on the driver’s side of Toole’s car. On the rear floorboard of the car — where Toole admitted to tossing Adam’s severed head — pictures show the bloody outline of a face.

“I have a blood transfer from Adam’s face onto the carpet — you can actually see his image. It’s as clear as the shroud of Turin, Veronica’s veil. It’s clear,” Mathews said.

He showed the picture to the Walshes.

“To me, it was the one thing that a mother knows, is that this is their child, that this picture is their child,” Reve Walsh said. “This is the piece of evidence that ties everything together for me and I can go to my grave knowing that not only that I did everything I could but that I found my answers in that photo.”

In December 2008, based on the evidence presented by Mathews — who is also one of the co-authors of “Bringing Adam Home,” — the new Hollywood Police Department Chief Chad Wagner officially closed the case, definitively naming Ottis Toole, who had since died in prison, as the man who killed Adam. Wagner apologized to the Walshes for mistakes that he said were made early in the investigation.

It’s been over 32 years since the kidnapping and murder of Adam John Walsh and his family never gave up on him and didn’t let his case go down in vain. America’s Most Wanted is still helping law enforcement solve thousands of crimes and they plan to continue for as long as they possibly can.

LAS VEGAS — Police suspect that a casino worker killed a 10-year-girl before going to a Las Vegas resort and allegedly slashing the face of a co-worker with razor blades.

The search for Jade Morris ended Friday afternoon when officials confirmed that it was her body that was found a day earlier in an undeveloped housing tract. The Clark County coroner’s office said she died of multiple stab wounds,

Jade was last seen Dec. 21 with family friend Brenda Stokes Wilson, who picked her up to go Christmas shopping.

MUGSHOT: Brenda Wilson

Wilson, 50, returned the car she had borrowed for the outing to a friend two hours later. Jade never came back. Investigators later found blood on the driver’s door and steering wheel of the 2007 Saab sedan.

Later that night, Wilson was wrestled to the ground with razors in each hand after allegedly slashing the face of a female co-worker at the Bellagio casino.

A judge raised her bail to $60,000 from $600,000 Friday morning after she was identified as the prime suspect in the child’s killing.

“It’s no secret the defendant is the suspect in the murder of 10-year-old Jade Morris,” prosecutor Robert Daskas told Senior Clark County District Court Judge Joseph Bonaventure at the hearing.

“As soon as we get all the evidence in that we need, we’ll book her on the murder charges,” he said.

Wilson has been jailed since the 21st on felony battery with a weapon, burglary and mayhem charges that could get her decades in prison.

Police said she offered no help in the search for the missing girl. Murder and kidnapping charges could get her life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

On Thursday, Las Vegas police responding to a 911 call found a girl’s body in unkempt brush near palm trees in a small traffic circle about 10 miles from the downtown Las Vegas outlet mall where Stokes was to have taken the girl shopping.

On Friday evening, Jones called the slaying “unfathomable.”

“Even having our jobs, we still can’t wrap our heads around this,” he said. “A lot of people think that just because of our positions we can understand it, but we can’t.”

In court Friday morning, Wilson stood flanked by eight police officers as her lawyer, Tony Liker, clutching a Bible and a copy of the charging documents, asked the judge to postpone arraignment until Wednesday to give him time to meet with Wilson.

Wilson, who had been identified by police and prosecutors as Brenda Stokes, told the judge Friday that her full name was Brenda Stokes Wilson.

Jade’s father, Philip Morris, was removed from court Wednesday by armed court officers after shouting questions about his daughter’s whereabouts to Wilson. He did not attend Friday’s hearing.

The two dated for several years, and Jade had a long and trusting relationship with Wilson, according to the girl’s grandfather, Philip Tucker.

Tucker said Philip Morris lived in Billings, Mont., and worked at a Flying J truck stop for more than a year. He would stay with Wilson when he visited Las Vegas, Tucker said.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the slaying. But Tucker said Wilson appeared to believe that the face-slashing victim had become romantically involved with Philip Morris.

Wilson picked up Jade for their shopping expedition around 5 p.m. Later, she got a ride with a friend to the Bellagio. She allegedly attacked her co-worker, Joyce Rhone, at around 9:30 p.m.

Rhone, 44, was hospitalized with deep cuts on her face, including one from her ear to the edge of her mouth.

Wilson told investigators that she visited her doctor last week, seeking to be admitted to a hospital “due to feeling like she wanted to hurt someone.”

The children and teachers listed below were all gunned down on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Parents and loved ones reflect on the good memories of those who were taken away so quickly.

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Chase Kowalski, 7, standing besides his mother, Becky Kowalski – Chase was gunned down along with his entire 1st grade class in the Sandy Hook tragedy. His family has set up the Chase Kowalski Scholarship Fund in honor of their child.

Daniel Barden, 7, one of the 20 child victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre.

The image of Daniel that comes to mind for neighbor Peter Bernson is a very special, happy glimpse into the life of the first-grader: a laughing, brown-haired boy heading to the bus stop every morning atop his father’s shoulders. The youngest of three children, he was a familiar face at swim practice, among other activities. “This is a warm, loving family,” a co-worker of his mother, Jackie Barden, tells the AP. “The kids were the type of kids parents want their children to be around: warm and wonderful and caring and kind. This is heartbreaking.” Photo: Courtesy of the Family

Little Daniel’s family during an interview several days after the shoot-out. Photo show’s the victim’s big brother and both parents.

“Words really cannot express what a special boy Daniel was. Such a light. Always smiling, unfailingly polite, incredibly affectionate, fair and so thoughtful towards others, imaginative in play, both intelligent and articulate in conversation; in all, a constant source of laughter and joy,” a statement from the family reads. “Daniel was fearless in his pursuit of happiness and life. … Despite that, he was, as his mother said, ‘Just So Good.’ He embodied everything that is wholesome and innocent in the world.”

Photo of Dylan Hockley, Sandy Hook 1st grade victim originally from UK, Dylan’s family moved him to the US two years ago for a ‘better start in life’

Photo of Dylan’s family Ian and Nicole Hockley and their other son Jake at Dylan’s memorial service which was held Friday, exactly one week after the Massacre

A silver butterfly is pinned above Nicole Hockley’s heart on the vibrant purple sweater she wore in honour of Dylan who she called ‘Mister D’. She spoke of her ‘special angel’ who will never get to unwrap the Christmas presents that sit under the family tree. ‘Dylan brought untold fun and joy into our lives,’ she says with a smile. ‘Something good will come of this. His death will have meaning.’

Dylan, who suffered from autism, died cradled in the arms of his devoted special needs teacher Anne Marie Murphy who was also killed.

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Anne M. Greene (6)

Just two months ago, Ana’s family moved to Connecticut from Canada, drawn by the school’s impressive reputation in town. Now, her memory lives on in a song her father, jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene, penned in her namesake, “Ana Grace.” “As we work through this nightmare, we’re reminded how much we’re loved and supported on this earth and by our father in heaven,” Greene told the Ottawa Citizen. “As much as she’s needed here and missed by her mother, brother and me, Ana beat us all to paradise. I love you, sweetie girl.” Photo: Family Photo/Rex USA

Photo of Ana’s devastated parents the day they found out their beloved daughter was one of the victims

Victoria Soto was a first grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She was also a victim but her name did not go down in vain. She will always be remembered as a hero for saving her students from Gunman Adam Lanza.

Victoria hid her students in closets and cupboards. When Lanza walked in she told him her students were at Gym on the other end of the school. Lanza then shot Mrs. Soto and walked off. Leaving her students unharmed.

The heartbreaking photo of Carlee Soto, Victoria Soto’s sibling, frantically trying to get in touch with her sister who was a 1st grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Articles will say this photo was taken the moment she found out her sister’s fate but that is incorrect. She learned the truth shortly after.

Scarlett Lewis, 44, had planned to make a gingerbread house with her son at school that Friday afternoon

After a desperate search, she said ‘I just kind of knew. All the other kids were gone; we’re just sitting there’

Scarlett Lewis, 44, described her son Jesse as a blessing and a gift

Mrs. Lewis raced to a Sandy Hook neighbor after she heard some children were being kept safe there. She was told by Gene Rosen that Jessie wasn’t one of the six children he discovered at the end of his drive-way

Emilie Parker, the little girl with the blond hair and bright blue eyes, would have been one of the first to comfort her classmates at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had a gunman’s bullets not claimed her life, her father said.
“My daughter Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing and giving support to all the victims because that’s the kind of kid she is,” her father, Robbie Parker said as he fought back tears, telling the world about his “bright, creative and loving” daughter who was one of the 20 young victims in the Newtown, Conn., shooting.
“She always had something kind to say about anybody,” her father said. “We find comfort reflecting on the incredible person Emilie was and how many lives she was able to touch.”
Emilie, 6, was helping teach her younger sisters to read and make things, and she was the little girls would go to for comfort, he said.
“They looked up to her,” Parker said.

Emilie’s parents – photo taken moments after finding out their daughter was one of the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Friday night, hours after he learned of his daughter’s death, Parker said he spoke at his church.
“I don’t know how to get through something like this. My wife and I don’t understand how to process all of this,” he said today. “We find strength in our religion and in our faith and in our family. ”
“It’s a horrific tragedy and I want everyone to know our hearts and prayers go out to them. This includes the family of the shooter. I can’t imagine how hard this experience must be for you and I want you to know our family … love and support goes out to you as well.”

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The funeral for Charlotte Bacon (6) occurred at the Christ the King Lutheran Church in Newtown on December 19, 2012, five days after she was gunned down by Adam Lanza.

They were supposed to be for the holidays, but finally on Friday, December 14, 2012 after hearing much begging, Charlotte Bacon’s mother, JoAnn Bacon, relented and let her wear the new pink dress and boots to school.

It was the last outfit the outgoing redhead would ever pick out. Charlotte’s older brother, Guy, was also in the school, but was not shot.

JoAnn and Joel Bacon had lived in Newtown for four or five years. At Charlotte’s funeral service, JoAnn spoke of her daughter, telling those who attended that her daughter’s favorite color was pink and she had a love for animals. She went on to describe Charlotte as an exuberant, bubbly child who was willing to argue for the things that appealed to her.

“She said her daughter would say “I want it, I want it. Then it would be `I need it, I need it.’ ” JoAnn said during the service.

Her parents find comfort in knowing their slain daughter is in heaven.

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Caroline Previdi (also 6) was a 1st grader just like Charlotte Bacon. She was also laid to rest on Dec. 19, 2012

Caroline, born in 2006, was a lifetime resident of Newtown, CT. She was a member of St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown, and loved to draw and dance. Her smile brought happiness to everyone she touched.

Another online user posted this sketch of Caroline on a Facebook page. Although I’m not sure who exactly drew it due to the page being expired.

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Photo of Noel Pozner (6)

Noah Pozner and his twin sister Arielle celebrated their sixth birthday on November 20, 2012. Less than one month later Noah was gunned down. Arielle however, escaped Sandy Hook unharmed.

Noah loved to read and liked to figure out how things worked mechanically. He was excited that he got a new Wii for his birthday.

The twins uncle, Alexis Haller told The Associated Press back in December that he was “smart as a whip”, gentle but with a rambunctious streak. He also said that Noah called his sister Arielle his best friend.”They were always playing together, they loved to do things together,” Haller said.

“He was just a really lively, smart kid,” Haller said. “He would have become a great man, I think. He would have grown up to be a great dad.”

Veronique Pozner, Noel’s mother, was at work at Grove Hill Medical Center in New Britain, 38 miles from the Sandy Hook school, administering chemotherapy to cancer patients when a patient got an alert about the Sandy Hook shootings, said Doreen Berube, the office administrator. Pozner, an oncology nurse, came to Berube and said simply, “I’ve got to go.”

When his mother, a nurse, would tell him she loved him, he would answer, “Not as much as I love you, Mom.”

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Dawn L. Hochsprung

Dawn Hochsprung was a step-parent, grandmother and in 2010, became principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School. She was devoted to her family and to the students and teachers at her school.

Hochsprung sprung into action while attending a staff meeting. She heard the shots and didn’t hesitate to find the source of those bullets. Moments after running out of the meeting, bullets were heard over the intercom and might have saved the lives of many others. The others in the meeting barricaded the door after hearing the shots. A few minutes later, Lanza was banging on the door and telling them to open. He fired a shot threw the door and walked off.

”I had only known Dawn for 10 years. I watched how she made my dad so happy. Her big smile and infectious laugh added color and vibrancy to our family. This fall, as I struggled through my own tough time, I grew to value and appreciate her even more — for her constant support, her phone calls and texts when other people in my life remained silent. I feel so thankful that a week before she was killed I sent her a card telling her that. It was open on the counter when I got down to Connecticut on that awful Friday night, carrying both my sleepy 2-year-old daughter and my shock in my arms. I’m thankful that she read it in time.” said Hochsprung’s step daughter, Amy.

Click here to read what Dawn Hochsprung’s daughters have to say about their beloved mother’s death and how they feel about gun control and the laws that go with it.

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — All the victims of the Connecticut elementary school shooting were killed up close by multiple rifle shots, a medical examiner said.

Dr. H. Wayne Carver said at a news conference Saturday the deaths are classified as homicides. He said he believes “everybody was hit more than once.”

“This is a very devastating set of injuries,” Carver said.

Friday’s massacre of 26 children and adults at the school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, a 20-year-old described as brilliant but remote, was driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims.

Investigators were trying to learn more about Adam Lanza and questioned his older brother, who was not believed to have been involved in the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary. Police shed no light on the motive for the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

In tight-knit Newtown on Friday night, hundreds of people packed St. Rose of Lima Church and stood outside in a vigil for the 28 dead — 20 children and six adults at the school, the gunman’s mother at home, and the gunman himself, who committed suicide. People held hands, lit candles and sang “Silent Night.”

“These 20 children were just beautiful, beautiful children,” Monsignor Robert Weiss said. “These 20 children lit up this community better than all these Christmas lights we have. … There are a lot brighter stars up there tonight because of these kids.”

Lanza is believed to have suffered from a personality disorder and lived with his mother, said a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation. Authorities said he had no criminal history.

Outdated photo of Adam Lanza

Asked at a news conference whether Lanza had left any emails or other writings that might explain the rampage, state police Lt. Paul Vance said investigators had found “very good evidence” and hoped it would answer questions about the gunman’s motives. Vance would not elaborate.

However, another law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that investigators have found no note or manifesto of the sort they have come to expect after murderous rampages.

The tragedy plunged the picturesque New England town of 27,000 people into mourning.

“People in my neighborhood are feeling guilty about it being Christmas. They are taking down decorations,” said Jeannie Pasacreta, a psychologist who volunteered her services and was advising parents struggling with how to talk to their children.

Lanza shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, drove to the school in her car with at least three of her guns, and opened fire in two classrooms around 9:30 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

A custodian ran through the halls, warning of a gunman, and someone switched on the intercom, perhaps saving many lives by letting them hear the chaos in the school office, according to a teacher. Teachers locked their doors and ordered children to huddle in a corner, duck under their desks or hide in closets as shots reverberated through the building.

Among those killed was the school’s well-liked principal, Dawn Hochsprung. Town officials said she died while lunging at the gunman in an attempt to overtake him. A woman who worked at the school was wounded.

Maryann Jacob, a clerk in the school library, was in there with 18 fourth-graders when they heard a commotion and gunfire outside the room. She had the youngsters crawl into a storage room, and they locked the door and barricaded it with a file cabinet. There happened to be materials for coloring, “so we set them up with paper and crayons.”

After what she guessed was about an hour, officers came to the door and knocked, but those inside couldn’t be sure it was the police.

“One of them slid his badge under the door, and they called and said, ‘It’s OK, it’s the police,'” she said.

The district superintendent said she was told another teacher pushed students in the kiln room until police let them out.

Investigators believe Lanza attended the school several years ago but appeared to have no recent connection to it, a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said. It was not clear whether he held a job.

At least one parent said Lanza’s mother was a substitute teacher at the school. But her name did not appear on a staff list. And the official said investigators were unable to establish any connection so far between her and the school.

The law enforcement officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation.

Lanza’s older brother, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, of Hoboken, N.J., was questioned, and investigators searched his computers and phone records, but he told law enforcement he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.

For about two hours late Friday and early Saturday, clergy members and emergency vehicles moved steadily to and from the school. The state medical examiner’s office said bodies of the victims would be taken there for autopsies.

The gunman forced his way into the kindergarten-through-fourth-grade school, authorities said. He took three guns into the school — a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both semiautomatic pistols, and a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The weapons were registered to his slain mother.

Lanza and his mother lived in a well-to-do part of prosperous Newtown, about 60 miles northeast of New York City, where neighbors are doctors or hold white-collar positions at companies such as General Electric, Pepsi and IBM.

His parents filed for divorce in 2008, according to court records. His father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford, Conn., and works as a tax director for GE.

The gunman’s aunt Marsha Lanza, of Crystal Lake, Ill., said her nephew was raised by kind, nurturing parents who would not have hesitated to seek mental help for him if he needed it.

“Nancy wasn’t one to deny reality,” Marsha Lanza said, adding her husband had seen Adam as recently as June and recalled nothing out of the ordinary.

Catherine Urso, of Newtown, said her college-age son knew the killer. “He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths,” she said.

Lanza attended Newtown High School, and several news clippings from recent years mention his name among the honor roll students.

Joshua Milas, who graduated from Newtown High in 2009 and belonged to the school technology club with him, said that Lanza was generally a happy person but that he hadn’t seen him in a few years.

“We would hang out, and he was a good kid. He was smart,” Joshua Milas said. “He was probably one of the smartest kids I know. He was probably a genius.”

Who is Adam Lanza? Why did he take so many lives?

Here’s a report posted by The Atlantic Wire:

Adam Lanza was 20 years old before he died on Friday — ABC, which first posted the photo above, is reporting that he took his own life after taking those of 20 children, six adults, and his mother. His brother Ryan, who was mistakenly identified as the shooter, hadn’t seen him since 2010, Ryan told authorities, according to The New York Post. According to the Associated Press, Ryan described his younger brother to authorities as “somewhat autistic” and said he suffered from a personality disorder. People with autism sometimes display “behaviors beyond their control,” according to this med-help.org site. Though there is not much research on the connection between violent crimes and autism,one study found 15 percent of juveniles evaluated in a “forensic setting” in Sweden had autistic spectrum disorders. (Asperger’s is a form of autism but is no longer listed in the DSM-5; click here for more on the latest research.) Another law enforcement official told Fox that Adam Lanza had a “checkered past … troubled youth for most of his life,” but CNN is reporting that he had no criminal record.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Hochsprung (pictured above) and school psychologist Mary Sherlach (pictured below) were both in a meeting with several other faculty members when gun shots were heard from outside the room. Hochsprung and Sherlach immediately left the room and rushed to the source of the sounds. Other staff members and teachers who were at the meeting said they heard screams followed by gunshots. They were both gunned down.

Mary Sherlach, 56, was school psychologist at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

Mary Sherlach had looked forward to spending more time on Owasco Lake during her retirement. She and her husband, Bill, owned a cabin along the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Mary Sherlach was one year away from retirement. But on Friday morning, her life ended in one of the most deadly school shooting’s in American history.

Jesse Lewis, six, pictured with his father Neil Heslin, was killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School

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Chase Kowalski, 7, – Chase was one of the twenty students gunned down on 12/14/12 – Sandy Hook Elementary School – 1st Grader

A Collage of victim photos

A music teacher managed to save 15 children during Friday’s shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut by barricading them into a closet, while gunman Adam Lanza, 20, stood outside screaming ‘Let me in! Let me in!’
Maryrose Kristopik has been hailed a ‘hero’ by parents after herding the children to safety in a closet and barricading the door to prevent Lanza from entering.

Abbey Clements (right) said she tried to keep the children in her second grade class calm as the sound of gunfire rang out over the loud-speaker

Pictured: Victoria Soto (11-04-85 – 12-14-12) who attempted to hide several children in the closet and cupboards. When the shooter came to her classroom, she told him that her students were in the gym. He then gunned her down and moved on. She saved the lives of all of her students.

There is a Facebook page titled RIP Victoria Soto which was created to honor and remember the young woman who put her life on the line to protect her students.

LEFT: Photo of Carlee Soto crying as she frantically tries to get in touch with her sister, Victoria Soto who was among the 27 victims. RIGHT: Mother hugs her sobbing child, after he an other classmates are rescued and brought out to safety.

Parents of Ana Greene, one of the 20 child victims

Children are rescued and led away by authorities and teachers

The community of Newtown gathered to remember the victims who died on Friday at the Sandy Hook Elementary School

Mourners gather outside a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. on Friday

Hope: People pray and stand outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown to remember the lives lost in the tragic school shooting

A list of all those who lost their lives on December 14, 2012

Anthony Baracey holds flowers honoring victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school killing before a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Connecticut December 14, 2012

This composite photo shows Dawn Hocksprung, 47, (left), Anne Marie Murphy, 52, (center) and Lauren Rousseau, 30, (right) who are among the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.